House Training Dogs?

So my dogs won't go outside unless I tell them to. They have a doggy door to use, they're not scared of it either, they just won't go outside to potty. We've tried everything. Spanking sometimes works. We kept them away from the living room, kept them outside for the day when it wasn't too hot out, and keeping them in the kitchen (where the doggy door is located). I would hate for my dogs be outside dogs, but they might as well be. Is there anything I can do to fix this? It's so bad that it is stinking up my house because of them.

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Judy
Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts

July 26, 20180 found this helpful

If you really have tried everything, maybe it is time for a dog trainer.

poehere
Bronze Post Medal for All Time! 105 Posts

July 27, 20180 found this helpful

Considering you have more than one dog to train this can be a major challenge. You can try a few things that might help you out.

Set a timer for each hour. When the timer goes off the dog will need to go outside. You will need to leave them in the yard for 30 to 45 minutes before they are allowed to come back in the house.

Once they are back in the house, reset your timer again for 1 hour.
At first, put them out after 1 hour after they come inside.
You should be able to increase the time by 30 minutes if they don't pee or poop in your home.
If you are having issues at night with the dogs peeing and pooping in the house, you might want to consider to put them in the garage. This way you won't need to clean your home all the time. In the garage, you can take some bleach and a garden hose to clean the floor.
I would make sure the animals are fixed. I have dogs and it seems when they aren't fixed they will pee in the house more often than if they are fixed. I ended up fixing one of my dogs that loved to pee in my home and now he no longer does this.
There are so many of them that each one is marking their territory.

Pghgirl40
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July 28, 20180 found this helpful

First, I would rule out a medical condition--take them to the vet and have them checked out. You might be dealing with a health issue and that is what is causing all the issues.

If they get a clean bill of health, then ask the vet for his/her advice...and if crate training is the best bet (which in my mind it is) or if you need a few hours with a professional trainer.

If it is crate training basically they are in the crate except for potty time and when they do potty outside, they get lavish praise and treats. Then back to the crate. Pretty soon, they will learn that outside is for potty, not the house. My dogs both were crate trained in less than a few weeks. It works.

If I may (please take no offense as this is my opinion only), please don't spank a dog. All that does is make them fearful and aggressive and could essentially be telling them the wrong message if it is happening any where near the doggy door. Dogs, like people, respond to positive reinforcement. If they do something bad, ignore them. If they do something good, praise and treats.

Good luck! I would hate to see them have to become outside dogs. Especially in the dog days of August which are almost upon us.

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